Akeche wrote:People come in and mention Phix and all that. It just makes me wonder...
Are the characters in the comic too powerful? Too well connected? I've thought about this ever since our main cast began to ascend to Paranormal-hood, and part of me still feels it's... Tacky? There was a certain fun aspect about these normal girls who were somewhat connected getting mixed up with a world they really had no idea existed before. But now those girls are some of the most powerful creatures in that world.
I almost feel like Paul backed himself into a corner with that, and it might be why Monica was put on the sidelines in regards to being the main character of the comic. Atsali is a different approach, but she's basically been yanked up into Queen Bee status at school simply by being connected to Monica and Phix. The comic went from being "A Paranormal Slice of Life" to something more akin to "A Paranormal Slice of the Rich & Famous"
Edit: Also holy crap, yeah a quick google search for "racing one-piece" and I can kind of maybe see how that would be an issue for Atsali and might have made it easier for the lifeguards to throw her out. There obviously isn't an example of someone who's anywhere near as busty as her in one of those, but if the school issued suit is any indication even a larger size would be clinging pretty tight.
I sorta had that feeling when Monica "ascended" to full Jaguar Girl status. But if you go back through the archives, there are all kinds of hints that practicality everyone at the top of the paranormal power structure knows what Monica really is and what her full potential is. Most of them had probably seen the signs of "mortal ascending to demigod" before in Monica. It was a difficult and traumatic experience for Ms. M, but to to Phix, Nudge, and Euryle, it was the equivalent of a teenager going through puberty. Phix certainly took off the kid gloves with both Monica and Shelly once she perceived them as full adults in the paranormal community.
As I said, it was a little jarring to do an archive binge and see M go from a relatively normal person in extraordinary circumstances, but it does flow well when ready all together. And saying that, I don't so much see it as "Paul wrote himself into a corner." It's more like he showed Monica's growth and evolution up to the point where she became a full adult in the world of the paranormal, where before she was a child. The last arc with Monica that dealt with her relationship s with Kevin and Georgette was a sort of wrapping up of her story. She's still around, and I'm sure we'll still see her from time to time, but the major conflicts in her life have been resolved, and good storytelling is showing people in conflict, even if that conflict is all internal.
The shift to Atsali as the main protagonist gives us loads of story based conflict. Running down the list ,'Sali has to deal with her own discomfort with a body she didn't really want, and society's perception of that body. On top of that, she has to deal with prejudice against both halves of her paranormal heritage. Plus, she's dealing with celebrity status she didn't want based on who her mother is and her aunts are.
I get the sentiment that she's got a lot of status, "privilege" if you will due to her associations that she may not have "earned". But try to see it from her perspective. Atsali is an orphan who pretty much went from having nothing to having the world dropped in her lap, simply because she befriended Katherine. She's got a little bit of the Harry Potter thing going on where she just wanted a normal life, then got shoved right past that into a life of privilege and notoriety. She didn't ask for that, but there are going to be those who resent her because she didn't "earn it." But she's partly in the position she's in because she's a decent person and helped someone who she had no real reason to help, beyond emphasizing with them. And Jessie relayed that kindness by protecting her when she didn't know how connected Atsali was.
Yeah, Atsali has certain advantages and privileges, but her life is by no means conflict free.